PICO Worksheet and Search Strategy Protocol

1. Define your question using PICO by identifying: Patient/Problem, Intervention, Comparison group and Outcome:

Patient/Problem:
Intervention:
Comparison:
Outcome:

Write out your question:

2. Type of question/problem:

Circle one: Therapy / Prevention / Diagnosis / Etiology / Prognosis

3. Type of studies/publications to include in the search:

Check all that apply:

□ Meta-analysis □ Systematic review

□ Clinical practice guidelines □ Randomized controlled trial

□ Research studies or articles □ Case report or series

□ Research report or other grey literature

4. List main topics and alternate terms from your PICO question that can be used for your search:

5. Write out your search strategy:

6. List any limits that may apply to your search:

Gender:
Age:
Year(s) of publication:
Language(s):

7. List the databases you will search:

This form is adapted from: Miller, S.A. (2001). PICO worksheet and search strategy. US National Center for Dental Hygiene Research.